You're listening to Business English Pop, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Performance appraisals, sometimes also called performance evaluations or reviews, are a powerful way to develop staff's potential.
For appraisals to succeed, however, it's important that they're conducted in a structured way.
In addition, it's important that skill and diplomacy are used to handle the two main tasks of the appraisal giving feedback and setting goals.
So this is the first in a two-part series that focuses on structure, skill and diplomacy in performance appraisals.
In this episode, we'll deal with giving feedback.
In the second, we'll handle setting goals.
This episode focuses on giving effective feedback that creates a positive environment and builds trust.
These feedback skills are useful not only in performance appraisals, but also in any situation that requires making critical comments to someone about their work.
In the listening for this episode, Wendy is a new hire at ConStar's Video Conference Call Center.
She's been working there for about 10 months, including training, and now it's time for her first six-month performance review.
Derek, the manager of the operations department, will be giving Wendy her appraisal.
As a video conference coordinator for ConStar, Wendy's job requires using special equipment to set up and connect video conferences for Fortune 500 clients.
Constar's customers hold regular remote meetings among multiple locations all around the world.
Wendy's job is to make the connections between locations and to solve customers' problems when they call into the help desk.
What kind of feedback will Derek give Wendy?
She is very smart, but she tends to get hot under the collar when she works under pressure.
That means she gets upset when she feels job stress.
Sometimes she loses her temper and her colleagues have complained about it.
As usual, try to answer the following questions while you listen.
The answers will be posted in a few days at www.businessenglishpod.com.
First, how many meetings is Wendy handling per day at the moment?
Second, What is Wendy's main issue that Derek wants to give her feedback about?
And finally, what advice does Derek give Wendy to help her correct the problem?
Hi Wendy, come in and take a seat.
Thanks.
How are things today?
Fine, I guess.
Good.
So I've been reviewing your performance and it looks like there have been some big improvements in the last six months.
Yeah?
Yes, I'm really pleased with your progress.
Great.
We set a goal of handling eight meetings per day, and you're already up to 11.
Yes, it's busy, but I love it.
That's great.
Watch out, though.
We all turn into a bunch of workaholics here.
Yes, sometimes it's a real rush.
And sometimes it's stressful.
Sure.
So how do you feel?
Are there any specific areas you want to improve?
Well, to be honest, I guess I fly off the handle a little bit sometimes.
Yes, that's actually one of the things I wanted to talk about.
Uh-oh.
No worries.
Just listen.
Your reviews are positive, but they mention this, and I've seen it myself.
You have?
Yes, the other day when I was walking through the control centre, I could see you were pretty worked up.
Ah, okay.
The customer was upset and I couldn't get the bandwidth I needed.
I know.
I understand.
Sometimes it's like that.
I just get so into it, you know.
I can tell you really care about your work.
That's great.
That's just what we need.
Uh-huh.
But I should chill out.
Yeah, look, we've all been through this kind of thing and I'm very sympathetic.
But when we get into a pickle like that, we just need to calm down and put it into perspective.
I got it.
You should explain to the customer that you're doing your best to address the issue and then take 10 deep breaths.
Okay.
Then ask your team leader for help.
That's what she's there for.
Uh-huh.
Does that make sense?
Yeah, I think I can do that.
Now let's talk about your customer satisfaction KPIs.
They look good too.
Derek has handled his feedback very skillfully, hasn't he?
Not only did Wendy bring up the problem herself, but she agreed to change her behavior without a fight.
Let's go through the dialogue to study how Derek manages the feedback.
First, at the beginning, he makes a little informal small talk with Wendy to set her at ease.
Hi, Wendy.
Come in and take a seat.
Thanks.
How are things today?
Fine, I guess.
Then he kicks off the appraisal on a positive note.
Good.
So I've been reviewing your performance and it looks like there have been some big improvements in the last six months.
Yeah?
Yes, I'm really pleased with your progress.
Even if an employee's performance is not satisfactory, you should usually find something good to say at the beginning of the interview.
Praise the employee.
That way, you create a good atmosphere, and the employee will be more receptive to your suggestions.
Of course, in some cultures, you won't seem like a boss if you begin by being nice.
Almost everyone however, likes to hear positive comments about themselves, so try to find an appropriate way to do it.
The key here is to sound sincere.
Make sure what you say is true or that you've seen it with your own eyes.
Let's listen to other possible ways to start off on a positive note.
For example, to someone who's always talking to his workmates when he should be working, you might say this
Well, Matthew, I can really see you're getting along well with your coworkers.
And to someone who has good technical skills but lacks people skills, you might say this.
Honestly, George, you've really learned the technical side of the business very quickly.
After Derek kicks off the meeting on a positive note, what happens next?
Remember, he has just said to Wendy that she has made big improvements over the last six months.
Great.
We set a goal of handling eight meetings per day, and you're already up to 11.
Meetings per day refers to the number of video conferences that Wendy successfully connects on an average day.
Wendy's original goal at the end of six months was eight meetings per day, but now she's already handling 11.
In this exchange, Derek is still praising Wendy.
His praise is a method of carefully moving into the critical comments that he has.
Let's see how he does that.
What does Wendy say next?
Yes, it's busy, but I love it.
That's great.
Watch out, though.
We all turn into a bunch of workaholics here.
Yes, sometimes it's a real rush.
And sometimes it's stressful.
Sure.
Talking about the number of meetings per day is a way for Derek to bring up the topic of work stress.
The idioms workaholic and it's a real rush refer to being addicted to your job and to work pressure.
You can look at the study notes or the online exercises for this episode for complete definitions and examples.
By talking about work pressure, Derek has opened the way for Wendy to bring up her problem of losing her temper.
If possible, get the employees themselves to bring up any problems.
Encourage self-criticism.
This is a way of preventing a defensive reaction.
People are generally much more open to criticism when it comes from themselves.
Derek uses a skillful type of question to get Wendy talking about her temper.
What does he say?
So how do you feel?
Are there any specific areas you want to improve?
This is a question used to encourage self-criticism.
What are some other ways to do this?
So maybe you have some thoughts on your performance?
How about you?
What's your self-assessment at this point?
Maybe you wouldn't mind first sharing your own thoughts about how you've been doing.
How does Wendy respond to Derek's encouragement of self-criticism?
She uses an idiom to fly off the handle, which means to lose one's temper.
Uh, well, to be honest, I guess I fly off the handle a little bit sometimes.
Yes, that's actually one of the things I wanted to talk about.
Uh-oh.
Next, Derek talks about what he has seen with his own two eyes.
No worries.
Just listen.
Your reviews are positive, but they mention this, and I've seen it myself.
You have?
Yes, the other day when I was walking through the control center, I could see you were pretty worked up.
In this exchange, Derek is using another classic technique of effective feedback.
He focuses on what he has seen or heard himself.
Keeping the feedback detailed and specific enables you to deal with the real situation at hand.
Avoid making moral evaluations or general comments.
Focus instead on the specific behaviors you wish to change.
Listen to a couple more examples.
This is something I have noticed too.
Let's focus on something specific.
Let me give you a concrete example of what I mean.
I just want to talk about what I've seen with my own two eyes.
How does Wendy respond to Derek's comments?
Ah, the customer was upset and I couldn't get the bandwidth I needed.
Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can pass over internet cables.
Video conferencing requires a lot of bandwidth.
Larger conferences with higher quality video require even more bandwidth.
In the situation Wendy is describing.
For some reason, the bandwidth wasn't available and the customer got upset.
Then Wendy got upset too.
How does Derek respond?
I know.
I understand.
Sometimes it's like that.
I just get so into it, you know.
I can tell you really care about your work.
That's great.
That's just what we need.
Wendy explains that she gets so into it, which means that she gets excited and absorbed by her work.
Obviously, she's having a bit of a defensive reaction.
That is, she's attempting to defend herself from Derek's criticism by explaining the situation from her point of view.
But Derek responds by calming Wendy down or defusing her defensive reaction.
He does this by showing empathy or compassion.
That means he feels with her.
How does he do this?
He says...
I know.
I understand.
Sometimes it's like that.
And?
I can tell you really care about your work.
That's great.
That's just what we need.
What are some other expressions you can use to show your empathy?
Look, I understand that it's a really tough kind of situation to deal with.
I'm very sympathetic.
I know what you mean.
I know that this kind of thing can be very challenging.
I really hear what you're saying.
You're not the first person to feel that way.
Back in the dialogue, Derek continues to show compassion.
Meanwhile, Wendy responds well to his empathy, doesn't she?
Uh-huh, but I should chill out.
Yeah, look, we've all been through this kind of thing, and I'm very sympathetic.
But when we get into a pickle like that, we just need to calm down and put it into perspective.
I got it.
Wendy says she needs to chill out, or calm down.
Derek advises her that when we get into a pickle like that, that is encounter a difficult problem.
We need to put it into perspective.
This means relax and take a larger philosophical view of things.
For complete definitions and examples of these idioms, remember to check out the study notes and the online exercises for this episode.
As with the beginning of the dialogue, Derek's use of informal language helps create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
What happens next?
Derek continues to give Wendy advice.
You should explain to the customer that you're doing your best to address the issue and then take 10 deep breaths.
Okay.
Then ask your team leader for help.
That's what she's there for.
Does that make sense?
Derek uses a range of expressions to advise Wendy.
Grammatically, he uses modal verbs to tell her what can and should be done.
These forms are often easier to accept than direct commands.
Finally, he makes sure to check understanding.
Checking back and confirming is a critical communication skill that we've handled before, most notably in BEP 35, clarifying what was meant.
That would be a very good episode to review, since confirming understanding is a very important part of the feedback process.
How does the dialogue finish off?
Yeah, I think I can do that.
Now let's talk about your customer satisfaction KPIs.
They look good, too.
Success Wendy has identified the problem through self-criticism.
Then, after a brief defensive response that Derek defused with empathy, she has accepted his advice on how to correct her behavior.
Now they're ready to talk about other KPIs, that is, key performance indicators.
A KPI is a key measurement of performance of an employee or work process.
In the second part of this series, we'll study how Derek and Wendy negotiate and set goals for various KPIs.
But before we finish this episode, let's practice some of the skills we learned today.
Imagine you are a manager at ConStar conducting a series of performance reviews.
You're giving feedback to your employees. but they're having defensive reactions.
What will you say to calm them down?
You'll hear a series of cues in which your employees, who are a little upset, defensively explain the situation.
After each beep, give an appropriate expression of empathy, such as I'm very sympathetic, or look, I understand that it's a really tough kind of situation.
Are you ready?
Let's give it a try.
I just get so angry when the customer is unreasonable.
It's hopeless.
No matter how hard I work, it's never good enough.
Sometimes the pressure is just so intense I want to scream.
How did you do?
Let's listen to some example answers.
Answer.
You're not the first person to feel that way.
Answer.
I have those kinds of days, too.
Sometimes the pressure is just so intense I want to scream.
Answer.
I know what you mean.
Of course, there are many possible ways to respond to each question.
Can you think of even more original language to express empathy?
I'm sure you can.
Be sure to go back and do the practice again.
Substitute different phrases to build fluency. which you can access at www.businessenglishpod.com.
There you'll find definitions of the vocabulary and idioms in today's dialogue, along with a full transcript and extensive language and listening practice.
See you in Part 2 of this series, when we'll be talking about another important part of the appraisal interview setting goals.
Thanks for listening.
Want to get more out of Business English Pod?
Then go to www.businessenglishpod.com and sign up as a premium member.
Premium members can access detailed study notes and the new phrase cast to practice all the useful language we featured today.
